Vital Statistics
Alfred Frederick Pinsent: 1851 – 1902 GRO0018 (Labourer, Wanganui, New Zealand)
Frances Jane Dunk: 1852 – 1919
Married: xxxx: xxxx, xxxx
Children by Frances Jane Dunk:
Eliza Ann Pinsent: 1877 – xxxx (Married Michael Joseph O’Keefe, xxxx, New Zealand, 1893)
Alfred Frederick William Pinsent: 1879 – xxxx (Married Margaret Melville Anderson, Wanganui, New Zealand, 1905)
Family Branch: Tiverton
PinsentID: GRO0018
Alfred Frederick Pinsent was the youngest surviving child of William Pinsent by his wife, Mary Ann Bright. He was born in London, where his father was a “wheelwright” in 1851 and grew up there with three sisters. Alfred had some education. He was admitted St. Michael’s School in Westminster, on 26th August 1861. He was nine years old at the time (London, England, School Admissions and Discharges: 1840-1911: Ancestry.com]. His level of attainment at school is not stated.
Alfred Frederick took off for New Zealand in 1868. He arrived at Lyttelton on the S.S. “Light brigade” on 27th August (Lytton Times: Thursday 27th August 1868) and was living in Christchurch on the South Island in March 1873. We know of this because, “Alfred Frederick Pinsent alias Ford” was charged in the local Quarter Sessions with committing an “indecent assault” on a Norwegian girl at the Devonshire Arms, in Peterborough Street. He pleaded innocent, of course, but the jury, who heard the prosecutrix’s evidence behind closed doors through an interpreter determined otherwise and he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour (Lyttelton Times: Tuesday 8th April 1873; Star: Tuesday 8th April 1873).
He was back in the Magistrates Court in 1875, accuses of disturbing the peace and using threatening behaviour, and was fined 20s and costs, with the option of 48 hours imprisonment (Evening Star: 3rd March 1875). I am not sure which he chose!
On his return to civilization, Alfred appears to have moved to the North Island and settled in Wanganui, or Whanganui as it is now known, near Wellington. Alfred Frederick seems to have “married” Frances Jane Dunk, although I can find no record of their union – either in England or New Zealand. She had been born in Kent in 1852. Her parents stayed on there, so perhaps they eloped and came out together. Married or not, they had two children, a daughter, Eliza Ann in 1877 and a son, Alfred Frederick William, in 1879.
Alfred Frederick joined the “Court Loyal Feilding” – part of the “Ancient Order of Foresters” on settling in Wanganui. Perhaps it was an attempt to regain respectability. He was a member by 1882, and he held the rank of SCR (whatever that was) the following December (Feilding Star: 30th June 1883). Unfortunately, he once again fell from grace the following month: The following notice was issued by the District Court of Wanganui: “‘THIS IS TO NOTIFY that the above named Alfred Pinsent, of Aorangi, near Feilding, in the County of Manuwatu, laborer, has this day filed a statement that he is unable to meet his engagements with his creditor. The first meeting of creditors to be held at the Court House, Palmerston North, on Saturday the twenty-eighth day of July 1883, at eleven o’clock in the fore, noon” (Manawatu Standard: 17th July 1883). He was a “labourer” who was living beyond his means.
Alfred was still troubled. In January 1885, he was back in court. This time charged with “indecent exposure.” He was allowed bail on his own recognizance of £5, which he seems to have been able to provide (Feilding Star: 28th June 1885). Exposure was a charge that needed to be heard by two justices; however, as only one at the hearing the charging Constable asked the court to replace his original charge with one of “drunkenness and disorderly conduct”. Alfred gratefully pleaded guilty to this and accepted a fine of £2. Nevertheless, the powers-that-be were not impressed: “The magistrate told him that he might consider himself very fortunate in getting off so easily, as under the Police Offences Act he was liable for such conduct as that proved against him to be imprisoned for three months and had the more serious charge not been withdrawn, and had it been proved, he would have been liable to imprisonment for one year” (Feilding Star: 31st January 1885).
Alfred’s next visit to the Court House was as a witness, not as a plaintiff. It was a case in which a boy who had been beaten up by his employer – a farmer that had had too much to drink – claimed £20 damages. The boy had fled to Alfred’s house after the attach and spent the night there. “Alfred Pinsent deposed He was a laborer residing on the Makino road; remembered young Christensen coming to his house between eight and nine o’clock at night; his face was covered with caked blood, smothered with dust, a black eye, and a kick on the chin he looked as if he had been badly used; took him in to take care, of him; during the night he sang out in his sleep two or three times, “Nicols, don’t kill me;” in the morning went with the father of the boy to see Mr. Nicols; the father asked the cause of the ill-treatment; Mr. Nicols said he had it in for him for three months, but he was sorry for it; he admitted he had his knees on the boy’s chest” (Feilding Star: 25th March 1886).
E. J. Cottrell sued Alfred in the Feilding Court later that same month. This time, it was over the incomplete payment of a debt of £8 18s incurred for the purchase of a horse. “George Wilson deposed that he was an assistant to Mr. Cottrell; Mrs. and Mr.Pinsenthad never disputed owing the money, but had asked time to pay by instalments: never heard a dispute as to payment of £6. For the defense Mr. Pinsent deposed that he was a resident at Makino; had bought a horse from the plaintiff for; £6 10s in 1883; had the horse over seven month’s; returned the horse about the time he got the receipt. Mrs. Pinsent gave evidence as to certain payments; paid Mr. Cottrell £6 in actual cash, it had nothing to do with the horse transaction; the money was paid in notes, a £5 and a £1 note. Council on both sides having addressed the bench, The R.M. said the £6 had evidently been paid, Mr. Cottrell having, made a mistake: Judgment for defendant and costs” (Feilding Star: 13th May 1886). He was not always that fortunate. He lost his dispute with a Mr. Pilcher over a debt of 6s incurred for the purchase of milk and butter (Feilding Star: 14th March 1889). He also lost an unspecified case for £10 brought by Mr. Lyne (Feilding Star: 7th February 1891).
The Pinsent family finances must have improved in the years that followed as several of the local regional boards conducted road-building programmes. The local residents were encouraged to submit tenders for the work. Alfred did not win all the contracts; however, the Kiwitea Road Board accepted a Pinsent and Frederickson bid of £38 for work on “Harper’s Line” (31st March 1888 and Pincent and Klink’s tender of £68 14s 6d for “making about 80 chains of bridle track on McBeth’s Road” (Feilding Star: 24th January 1889).
The Electoral Rolls show that Alfred was listed as a “labourer” who resided at Feilding in the Manawatu-Wanganui district in 1885-1886 (New Zealand Electoral Rolls: 1853 – 1981: [Ancestry.com])
It is tempting to suggest that Alfred took to breaking windows! However, it seems much more likely that it was his son Alfred Frederick William Pinsent (aged around twelve) who was fined 5s and costs in Court at Wanganui Court for willfully throwing stones and breaking windows in Aramaho in 1891 (Feilding Star: 7th February 1891). This was probably the same “lad” who broke is leg in an accident at Tokowaru in 1896 (Wanganui Herald: 11th July 1896); however he was named “Pynsent” and – as Charles Pitt Pynsent from the HENNOCK branch of the family was also resident in the Wanganui district at the time there may other possibilities. However, none of Mr. Pynsent’s sons would qualify as being a “lad”. Alfred Pinsent “junior” grew up and married and had children of his own. His life is discussed elsewhere.
Alfred’s daughter, Eliza Ann (Lily) Pinsent passed her exams at “Fielding State School” in September 1888. She was eleven years old. She also passed them the following year when she was twelve (Feidling Star: 4th September 1888; 27th August 1889). Eliza should have known better but she threw a stone that hit a seventeen-year old boy, Frank Churcher, in Denbigh Street in February 1889 and he ran after her and punched her in the face – drawing blood. The incident occurred in front of a justice of the peace – which was unfortunate for Frank as he wound up in court. He pleaded “guilty” and accepted a fined of 20s (Fielding Star: 19th February 1889).
Eliza had issues with at least one of her teachers and we find that her mother “Mrs. Pinsent waited on the Committee and complained of the treatment her daughter had received from one of the masters, by being beaten on the arm with a ruler. Resolved, that the head teacher’s attention be called to the complaint of Mrs. Pinsent” (Feilding Star: 16th April 1889).
In 1893, Eliza Ann married Michael Joseph O’Keefe and settled down. There is a photograph of her on-line in a “tree” compiled by Ian Maxwell (familytreedata(1)) available through Ancestry.com.
Alfred’s finances seem to have deteriorated, as Mr. A. Pinsent wrote to the Land Board “with reference to the forfeiture of his insterst in Sectoin 2, block 1, Tiriaukawa” (New Zealand Mail: 3rd August 1899.
Alfred “late of Hunterville” died in Wanganui Hospital in July 1902 (Wanganui Chronicle: 29th May 1902) and letters of administration were granted to his widow, Frances Jane Pinsent (Wanganui Herald: 2nd August 1902). The following year, she applied to the Wellington Land Board for permission “to subdivide and transfer section 11, block 2 Tiriaukawa, to Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Joblin in two equal parts” (New Zealand Mail: 2nd December 1903). This was approved, which must have helped her out financially.
Jane’s son, Alfred. married a couple of years later. It is worth noting that although the family lived in Wanganui at the same time as Charles Pitt Pynsent from the HENNOCK Branch of the family they moved in very different circles. I doubt if they acknowledged any kinship.
Family Tree
Grandparents
Grandfather: Bertram Horace Pinsent: 1904 – 1967
Grandmother: Lilian Mary Hynes: 1895 – 1982
Parents
Father: William Pinsent: 1812 – 1893 ✔️
Mother: Mary Ann Bright: 1813 – 1887
Father’s Siblings (Aunts, Uncles)
Samuel Benjamin Pinsent: 1794 – xxxx
William Pinsent: 1795 – xxxx
Ann Pinsent: 1797 – xxxx
William Pinsent: 1799 – xxxx
Sarah Lucy Pinsent: 1800 – xxxx
Esther Pinsent: 1805 – xxxx
Benjamin Pinsent: 1805 – xxxx
Benjamin Pinsent: 1808 – xxxx
William Pinsent: 1812 – 1893 ✔️
Emily Pinsent: 1815 – xxxx
Amelia Pinsent: 1818 – xxxx
Male Siblings (Brothers)
William Pinsent: 1835 – 1835
William Pinsent: 1847 – 1871
Eliza Pinsent: 1849 – xxxx
Alfred Frederick Pinsent: 1851 – 1902 ✔️
James Primrose Pinsent: 1857 – 1860
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